Newspapers’ Revenue Continues to Decline

1 of 7

Of the seven major media sectors, only newspapers lost revenue in 2010.

After a steady stream of negative news, last year was a fairly good year for the news industry. But one media sector continued to lose revenue in 2010: newspapers. Last year, the news media sectors of local TV, online, cable TV, network TV, radio and magazines all saw a positive percentage change in revenue. Newspapers, however, saw a 6.4% decline in revenue – an unmistakable sign that the structural economic problems facing newspapers are more severe than those of other media. The losses in revenue have had a dramatic effect on the makeup of newsrooms. The Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence estimates that between 1,000 and 1,500 newsroom jobs have been lost since 2000. The result is that today’s newspaper newsrooms are roughly 30% smaller than a decade ago. Read More

About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts.